Trump may impose sanctions on Russia as early as this week
27 May 09:59
The Wall Street Journal has learned from its own sources that the White House may impose significant anti-Russian sanctions this week, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
According to journalists in Washington, US President Donald Trump is frustrated that Russian dictator Putin continues to attack Ukraine.
The Republican is also not satisfied with the too slow pace of peace talks.
The sanctions are not likely to include significant banking restrictions, but they will include “other means of putting pressure on the Kremlin” to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
At the same time, it is possible that Trump will decide not to use any leverage.
The WSJ claims that the president is “tired of peace talks” and may well refuse to participate in them if the “last push” does not yield the desired result.
The WSJ also emphasized that for several weeks Trump had resisted pressure to rein in Putin for not agreeing to a ceasefire. Many of Ukraine’s allies, including Senator Lindsey Graham, told Trump that Putin did not want to negotiate and that only punishment would force him to negotiate seriously.
Officials say that three key points influenced Trump’s thinking. Among them is the American president’s dislike of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who, in Trump’s view, encourages further conflict by insisting on sanctions, even though it was Zelenskyy who agreed to the ceasefire.
Trump also believed that additional sanctions against Russia would not limit its ability to wage war, but would hinder efforts to revive economic ties between the United States and Russia.
The American president also believed that he knew Putin and that the Russian leader would end the war as a personal favor. However, Putin’s unwillingness to concede has tarnished Trump’s opinion of the Russian dictator, especially after a phone call last week during which Putin refused to sign a ceasefire agreement.
New EU sanctions against Russia are possible
The EU is also considering additional money transfer bans on about two dozen banks and new trade restrictions worth about 2.5 billion euros, anonymous sources told Bloomberg. The purpose of these measures is to further reduce Russia’s revenues and deprive it of the technology it needs to produce weapons.
Another topic of discussion for the next package of sanctions is the plan to propose to the Group of Seven (G7) to reduce the ceiling price for Russian oil to $45 per barrel. Currently, the price ceiling for Russian oil is $60 per barrel.
A communiqué released on May 22 following a meeting of the G7 finance ministers in Banff, Canada, states that the seven countries are ready to increase sanctions against Russia if it does not cooperate in establishing a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, the ministers failed to reach an agreement on lowering the ceiling price for Russian oil, Bloomberg reminds.
At the same time, the EU is going to extend sanctions against the so-called “shadow fleet” of the Russian Federation and is considering additional restrictions on creditors who, according to experts, help Moscow continue the war, the journalists quote their interlocutors. The Russian Direct Investment Fund may also be subject to new EU restrictions as part of the 18th package of sanctions being prepared, according to the report.
Planned sanctions against the Nord Stream pipeline
According to the authors, the European Commission’s plans to impose sanctions against the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines to prevent their revival by Russia with the participation of the United States were supported by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Earlier, the British business publication Financial Times wrote, citing unnamed sources in the know, that the EU sanctions currently being developed would target Nord Stream 2 AG, the Swiss-registered company that owns the pipeline, as well as any other companies (Russian or non-Russian) necessary for its restoration and operation.
“These sanctions will add weight to the position of Europe, which does not want to see the return of gas supplies through Russian pipelines in a significant volume,” Bloomberg notes. “The ban will also protect Berlin from possible pressure from the United States or Russia. In addition, the bloc (the European Union – Ed.) plans to gradually abandon Russian fossil fuels by the end of 2027.”
